Why your social media strategy should be built like a tiny house

In America we’ve always loved big and flashy. This is especially true when it comes to where (and how) we choose to live. In the wake of the housing crisis, however, many people are now shifting their focus from large “McMansions” to minimalism and Tiny Houses. This shift in desirable housing size speaks to, in my opinion, a larger need for our collective society:

We may like big and flashy, but we crave quality and heartfelt.

In my opinion, building your social media strategy should be a lot like constructing your very own tiny house.

What are “Tiny Houses” Exactly?

The Tiny Life explains, “[Tiny House] is a social movement where people are downsizing the space that they live in. The typical American home is around 2600 square feet, while the typical small or tiny house is around 100-400 square feet. Tiny Houses come in all shapes, sizes and forms but they focus on smaller spaces and simplified living.“

“But what does this have to do with social media strategy?” you ask. Well,

“Tiny housers,” as they are collectively known, deeply understand that pre-planning, care, and attention to detail are crucial. They take their time planning, preparing, and they measure twice before cutting (as the saying goes). They become experts at learning on the go and stay nimble in case unexpected problems arise. Your social strategy should be much the same. It is crucial and necessary to have a plan of action, steps, desired outcomes, and measurements before launching your social strategy. Your plan should also be nimble and flexible allowing for “a ha” moments of insight.

Tiny housers focus on quality and maximizing space. When faced with the proposition of living in less that 400 square feet of space, tiny housers must figure out who they are and what they really need to be successful. So should you focus on priorities and ask: What is important? What do I need? With what do I want to surround myself? What can I let go?

We’ve all seen half-assed, lazy, ugly, tacky or downright boring and ineffective social content. The reasons for this are varied: many community managers just follow the beaten path, some don’t feel passionate about the topic they’re put in charge of, others are bored or have had their autonomy taken away, etc. etc. The list goes on!. As with a tiny home, your social strategy should be made with love, by people who take ownership of the task at hand; those who cares deeply about the end result. Social strategy should never be farmed out to uncaring, impatient interns just because they’re the biggest Instagram fans on your team.

Using sustainable, recycled, and renewable products helps cut cost and time for tiny homes. Your social strategy should absolutely take advantage of the resources you already have: repurpose content to get lots of traction, capitalize on work you’ve already done, ask employees for insights and watch what the competition is doing so you can discover tactics that suit your needs. This focus on sustainable and “recyclable” actions will help keep time and budget down.

As I mentioned earlier, social media is about people, community, and building relationships. Because of their chosen environment, those who live in small houses must interact with the people they live with. They can’t easily hide in another room when things get rough so they focus on relationships, improving communication, and working together for the collective happiness. So too should your social strategy focus on the people you hope to live, work, and sell to.

Lastly, though it’s not necessarily an overtly stated goal, many tiny housers understand and embrace the “WOW factor.” there is nothing more deeply satisfying than putting hard work into something and proudly announcing, “I made this.” At the end of the day, you should look at your social strategy, tactics, and channels with that same feeling of a job well done.

I could go on and on but I sense you probably now understand the metaphor. My favorite thing about Tiny House building is that there is no perfect or gold standard for building one’s home. In this, our digital age of fast, cheap and easy, I highly recommend embracing this same grass roots, heartfelt, focus on quality.

P.S. Tiny house builders, ask for (and receive) help. If you have any social media marketing questions or comments feel free to share them. I love to pitch in where I can. 😉

Hi Elaine! The first step is to definitely research! Take some time to think about (and discover) who your audience is, what your competition is doing (and how successful they are), figure out your goals and what you can achieve with the resources you have. If you need help or guidance along the way you can hire a freelancer like me – or do the research on your own. 🙂 Hope this helps!